Xavier Nwankpa put a cherry on top of a great summer with a viral bone-crushing hit

After being projected as a late NFL Draft pick, Xavier Nwankpa's NFL future was briefly in limbo.

The former Southeast Polk and Iowa Hawkeye star went undrafted, but he didn't let that shake his confidence. Shortly after going undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft, Nwankpa posted "Bet. Watch this," putting the NFL on notice that he wasn't going away that easily. He was eventually signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent, and he has been one of the biggest surprises of the summer. As an UDFA, he has a massive uphill climb to make a 53-man roster, but his latest viral practice moment proves he is more than up to the challenge.

Nwankpa cemented himself as a force to be reckoned with after a bone-crushing hit

We are just a few days away from the Chiefs' first preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams on August 15, and Nwankpa has made a solid case to earn a roster spot. The Chiefs' secondary took a massive hit when the organization traded away star defensive back Trent McDuffie and lost Jaylen Watson and Bryan Cook to free agency. The Chiefs drafted two defensive backs in the draft (Jadon Canady and Mansoor Delane) and added safety Alohi Gilman in free agency, but the secondary still lacks depth. Nwankpa was brought in to compete for snaps in the secondary and has had a tremendous summer in his pursuit of making the team.

Nwankpa has always been known as a heavy hitter who gets upfield in a hurry to help in the run game and disrupt plays on the perimeter. Former rival running back Emmett Johnson found out the hard way that even though they are now teammates, Nwankpa is letting the rivalry, and his chance to make the roster go away.

The Iowa-Nebraska rivalry is still very much alive, whether it's in Iowa City/Lincoln or in the NFL. Former Nebraska running back and Chiefs' fifth-round draft pick, Emmett Johnson, learned a very quick lesson about what will happen if Nwankpa gets downhill with a full head of steam. Johnson caught a screen pass out of the backfield and thought he had a ton of green grass in front of him...until he didn't. Nwankpa seemingly came out of nowhere to lay the lumber to Johnson, causing him to fly into the air. Now, while those kinds of hits are accepted during the regular season, they are often frowned upon in the preseason or in practice against your own team.

While it was a legal hit, organizations have cut players for less than that, but the Chiefs don't seem to be taking any negative action against Nwankpa. Nwankpa is not a dirty player and plays with his heart on his sleeve, so it was not necessarily a predetermined shot, regardless of the bad blood between his former school (Iowa) and Johnson's (Nebraska). Nwankpa is doing everything he can to make the team, and if that means laying out running backs as they attempt to juke him in the open field, so be it.

Nwankpa is an extremely talented player with tons of athleticism, and given the current state of the Chiefs' secondary, he has a solid chance of making the roster. Even if he doesn't get reps on defense early on, he has been taking a lot of snaps on special teams throughout the summer, doing everything he can to enhance his worth. From a former five-star high school recruit to being undrafted, Nwankpa is definitely playing with a chip on his shoulder, and Hawkeye fans can't wait to see him suit up in the preseason for the first time.

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